I have a 1999 F-150 with 101,000 miles on it. A few weeks ago my radio was not working right- it's a aftermarket, now tonight while driving home in the rain at night, I lost all electrical power. Wipers, dash light, radio (kept opening and closing) and no lights. I was able to drive the truck home as it did not seem to affect the engine. ANY suggestions as to what to check first? The battery is only a few months old. thank you for any advice, Jeanine

 

Sounds strange, but check the fuse for your wipers. In most newer cars, the power is monitored by a computer module. If the fuse is blown in a circuit considered critical, the computer switches power from the radio, courtesy lights, or other non-critical device and uses this power source to maintain the critical device.

If, for instance, you had a short in the wiper motor, the wiper fuse would blow, and the computer would switch power from the radio to the wipers. Your only indication of problem would be the loss of radio. If the wiper problem wasn't corrected, you'd blow the radio fuse, and the computer would use power from your courtesy lights to power the wipers... etc.